Insomnia
by if-you-lie
Summary: Post-Journey's End, Pete's Universe. Sleep is one of the many things that keeps people sane...most of the time.
1. Insomnia

This is my first story. It is super short. Please don't be too harsh.

Doctor Who doesn't belong to me, neither do any of the characters or whatever.

I could turn this into a full-fledged story...but I won't unless someone asks me to. :P

* * *

**Insomnia**

Life is hard when you can't sleep. What do you do with all that extra time, just distracting yourself as your mind and body deteriorate bit by bit?

This is loneliness. Yet simply knowing the cause of one's pain can't always heal it.

She tried laying in bed, in the dark, waiting. Waiting for sleep. Waiting to wake up and discover all this pain and disappointment was simply a dream. All her waiting came to naught. The only change waiting at the end of the first few nights were darker circles under her eyes.

She tried to wear herself out, force herself into such exhaustion sleep would be inevitable. It simply made things worse.

After six days she knew she wasn't seeing things...but sometimes she didn't agree with herself. But really, she couldn't be losing stability so quickly, could she?

Things were so much easier last time. She had people to work with. A goal to work towards. There was no imposter trying to make everything better. People could understand this pain rather than belittling it, thinking so loudly that she wouldn't settle for 'just as good'.

Didn't they know that no one could compare to the Doctor?

The next morning she was so disconnected from reality that she couldn't stand. Couldn't eat. When her mother left some tea for her it ended up all over her bedspread, burning her through the blankets. She barely felt it. She was vaguely aware of the wetness, but she couldn't be bothered to care.

By afternoon she was fairly sure she was seeing flowers grow out of the shadows. They were beautiful, elegant, and so thoroughly clearly imaginary she wondered...were they, really?

By night she was asking them to be her friends. Such friendly flowers. Where were they from? Oh, she had been there. How had they never met before? Oh yes, that made perfect sense. Really though, they must stay.

At about 4 AM her mother and father awake to some rather 90s dance music. She and the flowers were having a dance party she explained. They quietly and oh-so-calmly speak of the nice doctors. Not that kind, of course, sweetie.

The flowers thought that was a terrible idea. Her parents must have agreed, because after stems unraveled themselves from her body and snaked about their ankles they didn't mention it again.


	2. Collapse

Thanks to amaya moore and Dreamcatcher49 for actually reviewing. I hope you don't hate the direction I take the story in.

* * *

The Doctor glared vacantly at the screen. It had been expected that Rose might not show up to the office for a while. After an initial infatuation period, she avoided him at all costs. Being human, and perhaps more than that being part Donna, completely disqualified him from her regard. She wouldn't even call him Doctor anymore, instead preferring 'Clone' when she had to reference him at all. What was much more worrying was the absence of Pete Tyler, whom in the few weeks since the Doctor's arrival in his world had provided him aid in locating housing, work and all of the other little absurdities of everyday life.

Torchwood of course had surveillance on their primary employees, as well as many key world figures. After a complete failure to contact Pete, Jackie or Rose Tyler he had decided to see whether anything suspicious had occurred outside their mansion since last he had seen the man. He frowned when he realized that not only did nothing strange show on the tape, but also that according to the recording all of the inhabitants should still be present.

"Figured out where he's got to?" Mickey asked the Doctor, leaning over his shoulder. He had become more accepting of the older man since his rejection by Rose, empathizing with his pain.

"He's at home."

Mickey waited for the Doctor to elaborate. After a prolonged pause he also studied the screen. "How many times have you tried calling them?"

"Twenty-seven times in the past five hours. Peter has missed two meetings and Jackie has yet to arrange for or arrive at any social engagements. Not only that but for no one in the Tyler family to pick up the phone..."

"It's more than worrying," Mickey finished. He sighed. "I'll send someone down there."

"Best send a team," the Doctor corrected him. "Pete's got a first-class security system. Anything that could get past that without setting anything off would have to be amazingly stealthy."

"Right," Mickey agreed. "I'll be sure to choose a group with the right finesse."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at Mickey's apparent knowledge of 'finesse' and closed the window monitoring the Tyler residence. He couldn't spend all his time mooning over Rose, and there were some cute ideas from the European Space Agency involving improved human space travel he had yet to examine.

It was strange working with such limited technology...but he was no longer the man he was. Even if he had been the same, that meant next to nothing here. It was more humbling than the end of the universe.

* * *

Mark Piper had extensive experience in Torchwood, as well as many less than savory experiences preceding it. He had infiltrated government agencies. He had monitored entire compounds for weeks. He had once insinuated himself so well into a family that he was mistaken for a relative more often than not for the better part of a year, after only seven months of contact. In addition to all his previous experiences, he was fully briefed on the security systems of the Tyler mansion.

In short, infiltration and investigation should be easier than buttoning his shirt in the morning.

In all honesty it was. He had his operatives checking windows while he and his second Kaylee checked the front door. What they were looking for was completely unknown, but Mark had utmost confidence in his team. Most had histories and references similar to his own.

Everything was going smoothly until he lost communication with one of his operatives. He waited a few moments before deciding to investigate himself. Kaylee was perfectly capable of and knowledgeable about all basic procedures, as well as many advanced. He suspected that it was a mere equipment malfunction, Operative Jameson might not even be aware of his predicament. While they had access to the most advanced equipment at Torchwood, there was always room for the possibility of mechanical failure or sentient error.

He worked his way around the house, noting that all of the other members of his team he expected to see were within sight. It was at the back of the house he noted Jameson perched outside a second story window. He searched his memory of the houses blueprints and determined that this was the bedroom of one Rose Tyler. The possibility of his operative having developed a voyeuristic streak broke into Piper's mind, but was swiftly discarded. Jameson was one of his best, and he had high confidence in the young man's character. He was also quite certain of Jameson's unwavering faithfulness to his wife.

"Jameson, what's the hold up?" Mark called up. There was no reply. "Jameson, report!" The young man remained silent.

Mark Piper considered his possible courses of action. Something was clearly wrong, and the other operatives had taken their places at the front and sides of the house awaiting his pushed the button to activate his communication system.

"Kaylee?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Something is wrong with Jameson. Please have Green and Thatcher meet me at Window 2F."

"Yes, sir."

Piper deactivated his communicator and approached a planter leading up to the window, deciding to forgo their usual method of ascension in favor of something easier to jump down from in case he needed to beat a quick retreat. He lowered his eye protectors and began to climb the ivy, being sure to grab lattice rather than stems. He heard Green and Thatcher arrive as he reached the window and settled himself into place.

"What's up, sir?" Thatcher asked with his usual disregard for rank and procedure.

Piper frowned down at him, but decided it was a valid enough question to answer despite Thatcher's impolite phrasing.

"I'm investigating what has Jameson so enthralled. You two are here in case it poses any threat to the rest of us."

"So basically we're making sure it doesn't get one up on you?"

Mark ignored this jibe and turned to study the scene unfolding inside the window. He was shocked at the lack of scene. There was only a darkness, through which he could make out little. The darkness itself was obviously, severely unnatural. He leaned forward as he began to make out figures within, never noticing a tendril of of inky black reach out to twine it's way around his wrist. Something was moving in there...someone was moving.

It was a young woman, presumably Rose Tyler. She was...dancing?

* * *

Thatcher and Green were almost entirely unprepared for their commander to simply fall limp and tumble down to earth in the manner he did. Together they managed to break his fall and quickly lower him to the ground. Green quickly examined his physical condition, noting no obvious breaks in the skin or signs of physical trauma.

"It's as if he's just passed out or fallen asleep," as he informed Thatcher. Thatcher activated his communicator and relayed this message to Kaylee.

Green frowned, taking Piper's pulse at the wrist. Something more had to be wrong...

Thatcher did not manage to catch Green before he collapsed.


	3. Delicious

Hey. if-you-lie here. Sorry it took me so long to do another chapter, I got a job right after I started this story, so...yeahhh...but as long as anyone bothers with it I'll keep writing it. So if you want me to continue, just review. One or two people's reviews = another chapter. It's just a way for me to know someone is reading it.

Also, my roommate was a bit confused, so: only the Tylers, the Doctor, and Mickey are from the series. The rest of these people I've made up. Including Kaylee Smith, the focus of this chapter. And no, she is not related to Mickey Smith. Or Sarah Jane Smith. Her last name was an arbitrary decision. :P

Thanks to amaya moore and jadesei for the reviews. ^-^

* * *

Today was a prime example of Kaylee's catch phrase: People are idiots.

Not one person she had spoken with had any idea what had happened to her teammates. They couldn't even tell her if it was alien related, whether it was a drug or disease, or even whether the conditions of those affected were stable. She wondered if Thatcher and Palmer had been subjected to as much questioning and ill-treatment as she had. It seemed unlikely. She had been in a position of authority, and half of their unit had been incapacitated.

Now she was at home waiting for work to call with news. She couldn't even complete the paperwork related to the mission because those higher up than she didn't feel that she was qualified to describe such esoteric events.

She didn't think they were qualified to boil water.

Kaylee had already exercised, read the paper (as ridiculously facetious as it usually was), and experimented with the cooking of pork buns (her attempt at dough was still stuck to the ceiling). Madame Chatte had eaten her Fancy Feast, and Kaylee was bored.

Finally the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Yes, hello?"

"Ah, hello there!"

"Who is this?"

"Is this Miss Kaylee Smith?"

"Yes," idiot, "and who is this?"

"This is the Doctor."

"Doctor who? I've already got the results of my check up earlier this month."

"No, the Doctor."

Kaylee felt her irritation rising.

"At Torchwood. That Doctor."

"...I see." She didn't see. Not at all. The voice on the other end of the line sighed.

"Nevermind. Let it suffice that I am from another branch of Torchwood."

"Indeed. What is your purpose in calling me? Have they found out what happened to Piper and them?"

"Oh no, of course not."

"...What is the purpose of this call, sir?"

"Well the reports they're sending me are awfully shoddy. They're not even telling me whether or not the Tylers were even there! So I decided that my only options were to visit the Tyler estate myself or call someone who has been there."

So he decided to take the lazy option, raising her hopes and then dashing them.

"Hello? Are you there?"

"It is believed that Pete, Jackie and Rose Tyler are all still present at the Tyler estate, although this could not be confirmed due to the risks involved in approaching the building."

"Ah yes, the massive mass narcolepsy. I suppose you would probably be interested in learning they've apparently found a successful method of removing them to a research facility."

Kaylee turned a paler shade of white at the mention of the research facility.

"You're a doctor (apparently), do you have any idea of what happened to them?" she asked, trying unsuccessfully to sound detached.

"I have a few hypotheses, but none of them fully explain the situation at hand. What angle are you working on?"

"None."

"...What?"

"They won't let any of us involved in the apparent origination of the incident return to the office or resume any of our duties until the situation is on some level understood or resolved."

"What? That's ridiculous."

She silently agreed with him.

"Just a moment, please."

Before she could respond he was yelling in the background at someone named Mickey. That couldn't be Mickey Smith, could it? He was her superior after all, and this doctor whatever didn't speak like one of the higher ups.

After a few moments of incomprehensible noise the Doctor appeared to be speaking to her again.

"Here's Mickey the Idiot." Kaylee raised an eyebrow at that. A man cleared his throat in the background before a familiar voice began to speak.

"Kaylee Smith?" It was. It was Mickey Smith.

What.

"Yes sir?"

"Please return to the office as soon as possible. Is it too late for you to be here tonight?"

"Of course not sir."

"Good. Please report to me within the hour. That is all."

"Very good sir." He hung up on her.

Kaylee stared blankly at her phone before realizing that it would take her most of an hour to look like an actual Torchwood employee and arrive there. She quickly replaced her black tee shirt and blue jeans with a pair of thick slacks and a white button up. Black sneakers and a pin striped blazer completed her outfit. She slung the long strap of her briefcase across her shoulders and lightly jogged out to her obnoxiously orange Vespa. Kaylee would swear it was yellow up and down, but that couldn't change reality.

"Kaylee!"

"What's up Mrs. Brown?" Kaylee asked with a smile.

"Are you going to the store? I forgot to buy ranch dressing and my grandchildren won't eat their vegetables without them."

"I'm not headed that way right now, but I can grab them on my way home from work."

"Thank you dear, that would be lovely. They're not coming over until tomorrow anyways."

"Sure thing Mrs. Brown. I've gotta run, see you later!"

Mrs. Brown smiled as the much younger woman drove off.

"Such a lovely young woman."

"I bet she'd taste delicious."

Mrs. Brown turned toward her house, frowning.

"Excuse me? Is someone there?"

No one answered.


	4. Introductions

OK, a quick note on Mickey Smith; I realized a bit belatedly that he had returned to his original reality. This is a fact. Let's pretend that his inclusion is completely purposeful. This will be resolved, somehow, at some point. Thank you.

Thanks to meermaid and scifigeekgirl for the reviews!

* * *

The door to Mr. Smith's office opened before Kaylee had a chance to knock. Kaylee suspected he had cameras watching the hall outside. Instead of Mickey Smith's dour face, however, she was met by a worried looking man she had never seen before. He was skinny, with brown hair and an apparent penchant for pin stripes. Kaylee wondered what his position was; he didn't seem much older than her, but his footwear (Converse) gave the impression he could do as he pleased.

He tacked a grin on his face when she entered the room.

"Ah! Miss Smith, now that you're here things can really get started," he chirped. Kaylee had always wondered how a person could chirp, and now she knew.

Then realization struck her.

"You're the Doctor."

"Indeed! And you are Miss Kaylee Smith of the Blue Wave, second in command under Mark Piper. You have hundreds of files concerning your history and missions, but not a high enough clearance in Torchwood to access half your own files."

Kaylee frowned at this summation. It was true and she had always been slightly offended by it.

"What about your clearance?"

"I was just reviewing your references," he replied cheekily.

She ground her teeth and was about to formulate a scathing reply when she was interrupted.

"Excuse me, we have work to accomplish, remember?" There was frowning Mickey.

"Sorry sir."

"Your impertinence is excused. The Doctor gets on everyone's nerves."

The Doctor actually appeared to pout at that. Who was this man?

"Nevertheless," Mickey continued, "it was he who requested that you return to Torchwood to resume investigating this case, which we shall refer to henceforth as Tyler Case #42." 42? How much trouble did this family manage to get themselves into? "Despite a vast difference in your ranks, he has requested to personally work with you and Thatcher. Palmer has declined to continue this particular mission and will be temporarily assigned to a different unit. Thatcher is on his way -"

"Thatcher is here," interrupted the Doctor as he opened the door to the office.

"Very well. Smith, Thatcher, please accompany the Doctor to his office. He will -"

"Yes yes, Mickey, you sound very important. Shall we go now kids? Be sure to hug grandpa Mickey before we go home."

Kaylee could see her look of shock laced with light amusement reflected in Thatcher's face. Their boss simply shot the Doctor an irritated glare. "Dismissed."

After they left Mickey leaned back in his extremely comfortable office chair.

"This could prove fun."

The small group reached the Doctor's office and he sat down, cross-legged on his desk. Thatcher and Kaylee faced him, standing upright but not at attention.

"Have a seat!" There was only one chair. She and Thatcher glanced at the chair, then at each other, then back at the Doctor. "Or not. So what shall I call you fine people?"

"Sir?"

"Why would I call you sir? I guess I could, but usually one refers to a female as Miss. Or Madame. Or Senorita." He grinned impishly. "I suppose it's fine to be a bit different though, Sir."

"Sir, this is Smith and I'm Thatcher," her teammate volunteered. The Doctor sighed, a sound that seemed slightly exasperated and disappointed at the same time.

"Yes, yes, Kaylee and Derek, I know. You may call me the Doctor."

"Sir, Doctor what? What is your surname if I might ask, sir?" Kaylee was relieved that Thatcher had asked the question she had been pondering all evening.

"Just the Doctor. And don't call me sir, please, just...don't. Okay? Now, we have a missing family, who may or may not be in their house still. There is something unidentified in the vicinity causing certain people to fall asleep and thus far, not wake up. It appears to have something to do with physical contact. What other information do we have?"

"The room, sir - Doctor," Thatcher corrected himself, "Rose Tyler's room was dark. Not normal dark, it was shrouded in darkness."

The Doctors smile faltered slightly and the crease between his brows darkened. "What else?"

Kaylee decided it was her turn to speak. "No life was visible in any room with a window to the outside. Pete Tyler is an important businessman. Jackie Tyler is involved in many important social engagements. There is very little information available on Rose Tyler, and the bulk of what exists is only available to those at top clearance levels. She appeared a few weeks ago. There is no record of her birth. There appears to be no paper trail that can discover or establish such a record."

"Very good," said the Doctor, "but that has nothing to do with this incident. Let's -"

"Beg your pardon sir," Kaylee interrupted, "but how can you be so certain?"

A look of surprise flashed across the Doctor's face before he smiled at Kaylee. His smile was somehow weary, and Kaylee wondered at it.

"I'm certain." She must have looked suspicious, because he continued. "I am quite intimately acquainted with the Tylers. Rose most of all. She and her family have a more complicated past than you might believe, but I am more than certain that Rose is not the cause of this."

The Doctor was completely besotted with the mysterious missing Tyler heiress. It was blindingly obvious, even while being laughably cliche. A normal person probably would not have noticed after so few references, but Kaylee was a pro. She tried not to calculate the probable age difference between the two. If she did she could have absolutely no respect for the man she would apparently be following for the duration of this mission.

"Is that all?" asked The Doctor.

"Yes," Thatcher replied.

"That is the limit of my knowledge," was Kaylee's response.

"Well then, just a moment while I contact the research facility to inform them that Derek is our liaison in matters regarding your missing teammates. If you want to start heading over there, I believe it is building B, floor eight, room 813. Something like that."

The Doctor picked up the phone and began almost immediately to converse with the person on the other end in his chatty, cheerful style. Thatcher sent Kaylee an almost pleading look before regaining his pride and leaving the room. Kaylee could sympathize with his discomfort, but offered no gesture or expression to soothe him. She had a feeling she was the one really getting the raw end of the deal.

As she thought this, the doctor hung up the phone. "Oh, has Derek already left? I suppose he can find out on his own that it was actually floor three, room 318."

Kaylee mentally wished Derek luck.

"Now, Miss Kaylee, you and I are going back to the Tyler estate!" She couldn't contain her look of concern. "Don't worry, we'll be extra careful! I never poke things with my fingers - sticks are much more disposable!"

Now Kaylee knew she was getting the raw end of the deal.

She was also vaguely concerned that in his mind her name might translate to something very close to stick.


	5. Lead, Youngling

A/N: Sorry for the extremely long time of no updates, and for the shortness and, honestly, filler-ness of this update. I have a plot outline. I have been distracted by changes in my work schedule and an attempt to progress my original fiction. Thank you to anyone who is still reading this and I hope you enjoy the latest installment of Insomnia. - if-you-lie

* * *

Kaylee was unaccustomed to going out in the field wearing her own clothes. The Doctor, however, did not feel that her standard uniform was really going to afford her any more protection than her 'everyday ensemble'. Kaylee didn't bother mentioning that in real life she was much more likely to wear jeans and a tee shirt than slacks and a button-up.

A number of personnel were stationed around the perimeter of the Tyler estate, some visible, some not. No one even tried to halt Kaylee or the Doctor for identification. This made Kaylee highly uncomfortable, as she wasn't sure whether it was for recognition of her companion or a complete lack of security that garnered them this treatment.

"What exactly do you expect us to accomplish here?" Kaylee asked.

"Not sure," replied the Doctor. "Normally with something like this my first instinct would be to leave well enough alone. As there are already quite a few people milling about, and I never follow that instinct anyways, I thought we might join them and see what all the fuss is about."

Kaylee had a very strong urge to smack her forehead, and an even stronger urge to smack him. She managed to restrain herself with a sigh and a thought of 'bloody idiot'. It was then that they reached the ground beneath the window. The Doctor pulled a cylindrical object from his pocket. He pressed a button, causing the object to glow and beep, then frowned.

"Is there something you're trying to accomplish, sir?" Kaylee finally asked.

"Don't call me sir. And yes, of course there is." He repeated his previous actions, frown deepening. "This is nonsense!"

"That I believe," Kaylee quietly replied. The Doctor shot her a deadpan look.

"It's telling me that room is full of Vash Nerada. Problem being, Vash Nerada kill. They don't send people into contagious comas. Also, they breed in forests. They can be carried by books, but Rose Tyler isn't much of a reader, bless her heart. How did Vash Nerada end up here, and what's wrong with them?"

"Maybe it's simply a strain you haven't heard of," was Kaylee's answer.

"You!" he called to one of the loitering operatives. The slim young woman he hailed ambled over to the scowling man.

"Yes, sir?"

"Don't - whatever. Has any surveillance equipment been sent into the premises yet?"

"You mean one of them roll-y cams?" Kaylee rolled her eyes at the woman's terminology. "I don't think so. There are a lot of doors between the front door and the hot zone, you know."

It was the Doctor's turn to roll his eyes now. "Kaylee, I'm going back to the office to pick up some equipment. You try to get these people doing something useful, or get them out." He turned to run to the car.

"Doctor!" Kaylee called after him.

"What?" He sounded annoyed now.

"Some of these people outrank me."

"Those that do probably won't much longer. Everyone that matters knows that you're working with me, and anyone with sense will listen when you tell them that. Go forth and lead, youngling!" he ended jokingly and sprinted off.

Kaylee took a deep breath and began her approach toward a man she recognized as being a team leader her team had coordinated with previously.

"Hello, sir. The Doctor and Mr. Smith requested that I help organize this investigation. What is your team's role here?"

"Bugger if I know."

"Excuse me?"

The man shrugged. "Far as I know they simply got every available team out here. No chain of command or mission orders beyond 'fix it'."

Kaylee sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Looks like I've got my work cut out for me."


End file.
